How much do you need | Aspire to Retire

Picture your retirement

How much do you need to live on?

To plan your retirement successfully, it’s important to have a clear picture of how much you’ll need to live on.

This is where the Retirement Living Standards come in. They were developed by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) to help you picture what kind of retirement lifestyle you could have with different levels of income.

Minimum, moderate or comfortable?

To keep things as simple as possible, there are three living standards. They were worked out based on how much a range of common goods and services would cost for each level. They don’t include mortgage or rent and are based on people living outside London.

Minimum

Moderate

Comfortable

£13,400 a year (single)
£21,600 a year (couple)

Covers all your needs, with some left over for fun

£31,700 a year (single)
£43,900 a year (couple)

More financial security and flexibility

£43,900 a year (single)
£60,600 a year (couple)

More financial freedom and some luxuries

Watch this video from the PLSA which gives a simple overview of the standards

Here’s an at-a-glance guide to what retirement could look like at the three different levels

Find out more on the Retirement Living Standards website

Pension portraits

What do the Retirement Living Standards mean for people at different ages, with different levels of earnings and savings?
Have a look at our pension portraits to see examples of the kind of living standards people could have in retirement depending on their ages, salaries, household and savings.

Meera & Sanjay

Paint your own picture

How do you decide on the lifestyle you want in retirement? Here are three easy steps to get you thinking about it.

Step 1: Think about what you won’t be doing anymore

You may not need to travel to work, so costs for commuting or buying work clothes go away.

Might you have paid off your mortgage? And of course, you won’t be paying pension contributions.

Step 2: Think about the things you want to do when you’ve got time

There might be new costs – like more holidays, or equipment and subscriptions for sports and leisure activities.

You might also find that costs like heating and lighting go up when you’re at home more.

Step 3: Think about your budget

Use our handy Budgeting for retirement planner to understand what you spend now and how this could change after you’ve retired.

Take our helpful quiz!

Take our quick and helpful lifestyle quiz to understand which living standard appeals most to you.

Check your progress

Once you’ve decided on your own retirement living standard, you’ll need to check whether your retirement savings are on track to give you the lifestyle you want. Here are some easy ways to check your progress.

Check your pension online

This is usually the quickest way to find out how much your retirement savings are currently worth. If you don't already have online access to look at your retirement savings, ask your pension providers if they offer this (many do these days).

Can't go online? Get benefit statements

Add up your other savings Add up how much you've got in non-pension savings, including bank and savings accounts, ISAs and other investments. Remember, current savings may go up or down and so may be different when you come to retire.

Add up your other savings

Add up how much you've got in non-pension savings, including bank and savings accounts, ISAs and other investments. Remember, current savings may go up or down and so may be different when you come to retire.

Get a State Pension forecast

Your state pension could be a big part of your retirement income, so it's well worth checking how much you can expect it to pay.

Get a State pension forecast

Once you’ve checked these, use the MoneyHelper pension calculator to see:

an estimate of your possible retirement income,
a target retirement income based on your current salary (though this may not give you the standard of living you want)

Are you on track?

Or is there a gap? What could you do to fill it?

Increase your pension contributions

Could you increase your pension contributions, even by a little? Over time a little could add up to a lot more, depending on how your investments do.

Check out our ten top tips to help you save more into your pension
Have a look at these ways to boost your pension income from MoneyHelper

Retire later

Could you retire a bit later to give you more time to build up retirement savings? If you do decide to retire later remember to tell your pension providers, as it may affect how your investments grow.

Use our countdown checklists to help you make an action plan